Sheriff’s co-responder deputies report daytime workload and follow-up successes; tablets and virtual assessments coming

Dane County mental health deputies and their embedded clinicians described a co-responder model on June 30 that emphasizes on-scene assessment, rapport-building and follow-up to reduce repeat calls and avoid unnecessary emergency transports.

Deputy Leslie Fox, who spoke for the Dane County Sheriff’s Office team, said the county formally added four mental-health deputies in October 2022. The office also has law-enforcement-embedded crisis workers in place since 2019, and the combined teams split coverage across precincts to match higher daytime call volumes.

Fox told committee members that deputies prioritize active calls for service but use downtime for proactive work such as welfare checks, home visits, development of individualized response plans and follow-up contact. Those response plans…